South Korea Proposes Curfew to Curb Online Gaming Addiction

Governments around the world are worried about the perils of gaming addiction — and with kids racking up FarmVille debt and Bulgarian politicians getting canned for playing too much, it’s no wonder. Recently a Korean couple was even arrested for starving their real life infant while diligently raising a virtual baby online.

Consequently, the South Korean government is considering a “gaming curfew” to curb the addictions of its online game-besotted youth, who make use of the country’s insanely robust broadband infrastructure to play a wide range of popular multiplayer titles. The Ministry of Culture has made specific suggestions, ranging from locking out school age players from Nexon’s Maple Story and Mabinogi between the hours of midnight and 8 a.m. to slowing down a gamer’s connection after lengthy login periods.

Several game developers have already signed on to individual curfew plans with implementations beginning later this year. In all, 19 role playing games will end up adopting some sort of curfew scheme, affecting a large sector of the South Korean online games market.

What do you think: Are gaming curfews a good way to prevent kids from developing an unhealthy attachment to online games? Or will the resourceful youth simply set up unauthorized servers and find a way to route around the restrictions?